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Delievering Multi-Agency Emergency Response Integration
Robert Scott - Intergraph
The importance of having interoperability between different agencies was something that Robert Scott of Intergraph discussed with relation to some of the examples in Washington D.C. In Washington there are 35 different policing agencies, all of whom could claim to have jurisdiction at an incident.
Such high numbers mean that interoperability is vital and the technology that is used must help reduce the amount of work people have to do, rather than increase it. Robert explained that the rise of situational awareness and adaptability of software post 9/11 has meant that emergency organisations can rely on increased resilience of communications tools.
This means that information can be made accessible to those who need it from outside the control zone one of the issues that effect rescues on 9/11 was that when the towers fell down they took out a lot of communication structures that had been set up.
Another aspect that Robert addressed was the use of CCTV and that the information has to be presented effectively not just as a TV wall, but with the relevant moments that are captured brought together and highlighted for the user. As an example of the need to have data that is accessible and able to be communicated cross networks Robert explained that post 9/11 drivers of oil tankers needed to gain access to military bases to deliver fuel for boats to protect rivers.
However, in the current climate they had to ensure that drivers were who they said they were and allowed to be let in to the base and so this involved communicating with security officials to carry out backgrounds checks. Such a wide range of issues to do with interoperability is something that Robert explained Intergraph were working towards resolving to aid the emergency services in their work.
